The Free Radicals

The Free Radicals The Free Radicals entertainment duo Australiana, Celtic, original, toe-tapping, fun energetic music.

As well as educators of alternatives and suppliers of Clean grown garlic specialist Black Garlic supplier Healthy ageing through physical activity, plant-based homegrown food choices and challenging the conventions of ageing with informed choices.

24/11/2025

Well, 2026, we decided, is going to be a year of music and entertainers for us.

We are going to halt garlic production and let the ground lie fallow for the time being.

In between our love for Warwick Sailing Club and our time on the water, we have decided to go for it and see what fun we can have, dedicating ourselves to the common thread that binds us both: music and storytelling.

There is no grand vision of chasing fame or lucrative recording deals, but just the genuine desire to provide our style of musical entertainment as a salve to everyday worries and problems people have in the moments they have time to relax and enjoy life without the pressure of the ticking time bomb of "making a living"

If you get to our gig at Busking At The Bowlo in Tamworth during our set, on Sunday, 5.30 pm we will be showcasing four original tunes and a couple of fun covers.

Our time at Tamworth will be the kick-off to a year we have been rehearsing for 10 years as a duo.

The video clip is a blast from the past, showing Sonya playing the cigar box ukulele I bought her when we had our store at Old Petrie Town

We decided to perform at the Tamworth Country music festival after several people who saw us at said we would fit in,...
20/11/2025

We decided to perform at the Tamworth Country music festival after several people who saw us at said we would fit in, even though we are not "country"

After talking to Meagan and Mitchi from Denim Duo Official who deserve congratulations for getting the number one Australian National Busking Championships award recently, we went to Tamworth to see the Peel St business owners who let buskers have space in front of their business.

Thanks to Al from Busking At The Bowlo who gave us a short list of good places to be busking at, we had a good start.

We are going for the experience of being involved as entertainers in the second-largest country music festival in the world, and to enjoy whatever manifests as fun and new.

As much as we like entertaining, we only organised a few spots so that we can enjoy the festival participation as performers, but also have enough time to enjoy the festival as spectators.

We kick off on Sunday at Busking At The Bowlo at 5.30 pm for a half-hour set.

Monday, we are in front of The Flight Centre 1.00 -2.45

Wednesday, we are in front of Best and Less. 11.00 - 12.45 and back again from 5pm to 7.30

Friday, we are in front of The Flight Centre again, 1.00 -2.45

On the way back, we booked our accommodation for the Australian Celtic festival at the end of April 2026, highlighting the Year of Scotland, which should be a cracker.

14/11/2025

Heading to Tamworth to try lock in
Busking spots for the tamworth music festival in January

10/11/2025

If you follow along, you would know Sonya and I are keen sailors out at the Warwick Sailing Club. This weekend, we were camping out, helping with Cunningham Capers. This scouting movement initiative, which we have been part of for the last 3 years, brings scouts —this year, 180 of them — to the shores of Leslie Dam to experience sailing, among other activities.

Unfortunately, we all got more than we bargained for when we were subjected to a storm that, out of nowhere, produced a microburst of intense wind at 150 km/h, according to the Higgins storm chaser page I used to get the video footage.

Unfortunately, we sustained damage to our boat as huge waves from the dam waters lashed the shore. Fortunately, it wasn't something that can not be repaired, and thanks to other members of the club, we salvaged all our gear and got the boat on the trailer, with a long list of repairs for the week ahead.

For those who have met us in person, you would recognise that Sonya is exhibiting an enhanced set of mammary glands to f...
06/11/2025

For those who have met us in person, you would recognise that Sonya is exhibiting an enhanced set of mammary glands to fill out her traditional dress for a local gig in Killarney, where she sang German folk songs.

Being part of local events is fun for us, and Sonya's preparation for this one was no exception.

Her fluent German language skills and family heritage for the culture made dressing the part in her mother's traditional German Oktoberfest Dirndl a fun challenge, even if it meant a couple of balloons to create the buxom effect.🤣

28/10/2025

Struth ... I did not realise there was so much preparation to go through to get a busking spot at
The busking guide says

" You only need one spot, across a handful of times over the festival to really give yourself a shot at making a little
bit of money and being considered for the Best of the Buskers competition. Buskers who take up multiple spots
with different businesses may be asked to release some of their spots so everyone can have a shot at some
“stage time”. If buskers keep to a single location, it can make it easier for family, friends and fans to find you
again. However, if that model doesn’t work for you or if you are only busking one or two days feel free to busk
everyday wherever you can (provided you have the businesses’ permission).
We also encourage nighttime busking – you will have to initiate crowds expecting busking performances here,
so it is wise to use daytime busking spots to advertise your evening busking spots. "

The difficulty is that the performer has to contact the business owners to organise a slot to busk.

It definitely is a challenge, but hopefully a fun, successful outcome will be the finish line.

Sonya and I advocate for the anticipation and possibilities that define a life well lived, rather than the mediocrity of the comfort of the known and familiar.

We have done many things in our time together that have pushed us outside our comfort zone ... has everything been a success? Nah... but at least we are not wallowing in the mire of regret for not having a go.

Okay, we have our accommodation booked in Tamworth. The riverside camping ground is home to the Riverside Stage & Takea...
22/10/2025

Okay, we have our accommodation booked in Tamworth. The riverside camping ground is home to the Riverside Stage & Takeaway so it sounds as if we are in the right place to experience Tamworth for the first time.

Our first gig is at 5:30 pm on Sunday, the 18th, at Busking At The Bowlo, as we ease into our busking gigs during the week.

It's always nerve-racking doing something new for the first time, but if you do not take the challenge, life will pass you by, and you end up in the backwater of regrets.

We started as Buskers at markets, etc, and always enjoyed it. We competed at the Australian National Busking Championships, with success, with a judges' award one year and second place in the band division as The Free Radicals Reloaded, with our mate Haggis playing the bagpipes.

Haggis won't be with us in Tamworth, and the video is from a Christmas gig we did with him. At the busking Championships, we went with the whole Braveheart thing going on.

We want to get to play a few of our originals, as well as a mixture of Australiana/Irish/shanty tunes we love.

Our music is just one part of our lives that we cherish and explore in the hope of entertaining our audiences. One of ou...
20/10/2025

Our music is just one part of our lives that we cherish and explore in the hope of entertaining our audiences. One of our other passions is sailing, and we love our weekends at Leslie Dam and being a part of the Warwick Sailing Club.

We had a cracker of a weekend with a mixed bag of wind and plenty of sunshine to enjoy. The Warwick Sailing Club is in its 6oth year of existence. It's had its hard times when the dam got low and membership waned, but right now, there is an abundance of water and enthusiastic membership.

Sonya loves sailing the Sabot Dinghy with protective headgear, as she is always freaked out getting hit in the head with the boom, which did happen when we sneaked away to a sailing day when we were at the Bony Mountain folk festival, glad we were not on that day.

The garlic harvest is still ongoing, and the next stage of drying and processing is being implemented.It will be a coupl...
15/10/2025

The garlic harvest is still ongoing, and the next stage of drying and processing is being implemented.

It will be a couple of weeks yet, but we are putting some of the harvest through THE HUB at Urbanville. Tony, the owner, is a dinky die advocate for grassroots production and local food supply.

After experiencing back issues that curtailed my activity severely, Tony is also an experienced practitioner of the Japanese healing art of Shiatsu. Within two treatments, I was able to get back to mobility and no pain. He has my recommendation for sure.

We had a great chat with the members of the band Denim Duo Official after the gig at the Killarney Hotel QLD, regarding...
13/10/2025

We had a great chat with the members of the band Denim Duo Official after the gig at the Killarney Hotel QLD, regarding what to expect at the Tamworth music festival.

It's always good when someone experienced in an event gives you a few pointers on what to expect and do.

We are busy organising where to stay and putting sets together for the event

Having a great experience at the KillarneyHotel Local listening to Denim Duo Official in the beer garden
12/10/2025

Having a great experience at the KillarneyHotel Local listening to Denim Duo Official in the beer garden

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